No public charge points for electric or hydrogen trucks, says ACEA

A lack of recharging and refuelling infrastructure suitable for electric and other alternatively-powered trucks across the EU threatens CO2 targets. That’s according to a the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), which has published new data on public charge points ahead of a meeting on Europe’s first-ever CO2 targets for trucks. The meeting takes place next week between representatives of the European Parliament, the 28 national governments and the European Commission as part of the ‘trilogue’ negotiations.

Reaching the ambitious CO2 standards proposed by the EU will only be possible with a rapid and massive market uptake of zero- and low-emission trucks, said the ACEA. While the aim is to conclude a deal on the new CO2 targets within the next few weeks, the required infrastructure is almost completely absent today and there is no clear EU action plan for its future roll-out, it continued. According to ACEA estimations, at least 6,000 high-power charging points for electric trucks (DC >500 kW) would be needed along EU motorways by 2025/2030.

In addition, another 20,000 ‘regular’ charging points suitable for trucks are required – bringing the total to 26,000. “The shocking fact is that there is not one single public charging point for long-haul trucks available today,” stated ACEA secretary general Erik Jonnaert. “What is more, a standard for the required high-power plugs doesn’t exist yet.” Although high-power charging points are being rolled out for electric cars along motorways, heavy-duty trucks cannot use this infrastructure because of their much higher power and energy demand, as well as the many parking spots they would need for charging along all major routes in Europe.

Similarly, hydrogen filling stations for cars are not suitable for trucks, given that the pressure storage is too small to meet truck demand. Some 1,000 truck-specific hydrogen stations are needed by 2025/2030, but less than 10 are available across the entire EU today – none of which are suitable for long-haul trucks. Truck-specific public filling stations for compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) are currently present in some EU member states, but their distribution is still very patchy across Europe and the number of stations remains low.

“Policy makers must be aware of this alarming situation when agreeing future CO2 targets for trucks, as these are dependent on a massive ramp-up in sales of alternatively-powered trucks,” continued Jonnaert. “The targets should be set accordingly – and must be accompanied by an action plan to roll out truck-specific infrastructure across the EU. “Customers cannot be expected to invest in alternatively-powered trucks if they do not have the possibility to recharge or refuel them.

“ACEA fully supports an agreement on the new truck CO2 standards, but we urge decision makers to ensure that the targets are achievable in practice.”